India will play two friendlies against Nepal on September 2 and 5 in Kathmandu and their next competitive assignment is the 2021 SAFF Cup in October.
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Indian national team head coach Igor Stimac has named a 25-man squad for the upcoming International friendlies in September. The Blue Tigers will take on Nepal on September 2 and 5 at the Dashrath stadium, Kathmandu. Even though the coach had named five new faces in the probable list, only Seriton Fernandes and Rahim Ali made it to the squad. Meanwhile the 11 players of ATK Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC will join the squad after their AFC Cup duty. Players of the Kolkata side have joined the team on Friday. The Blues’ side will unite with the squad on Sunday.
The Croatian coach had initially named a 24-man probable list for the 15-day camp in Kolkata from August 15- with the exception of- Amrinder Singh (ATK MB), Pritam Kotal (ATK MB), Subashish Bose (ATK MB), Manvir Singh ( ATK MB), Sunil Chhetri (BFC), Liston Colaco (ATK MB), Pronal Halder( ATK MB), Suresh Singh (BFC), Sunil Chhetri (BFC), Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (BFC).
As part of the ongoing training camp in Kolkata, Indian football team played two practice matches against IFA XI and Mohammedan Sporting which they won 1-0 and 2-0 respectively.
“We can’t expect much after 10 days of preparation. The legs are still heavy from the load. We need to slow down, and refresh the players,” Stimac remarked as the Blue Tigers are set to leave for Nepal on August 30.
Seriton Fernandes has been one of the most consistent performers for FC Goa over the past few years. The 28-year-old has been knocking on the door of the national team for quite some time. The right-back, who made it to the previous national camp in May, was cut from the squad after testing positive for COVID-19.
The Goan had an impressive showing for Gaurs in the AFC Champions League campaign. His relentless running and strong tackling can be handy for the Indian team. India has been without a regular right-back since Pritam Kotal has switched into a right-sided center-back position. Therefore, Seriton can very well fit into the right-back position with ease.
Meanwhile, the other newcomer, Rahim Ali who represented Indian in the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India, played two seasons for Indian Arrows before joining Chennaiyin FC in 2019. The 21-year-old has also been part of the India U20 and U23 sides.
Sandesh Jinghan, who has joined Croatian top division club HNK Sibenik, understandably didn’t make it to the squad. The other notable omissions are Ashique Kuruniya, Rowlin Borges, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Udanta Singh and Adil Khan.
“We need to be careful going into the next two games against Nepal. We understand that the ATK Mohun Bagan and BFC players will be in better shape (following their engagement in the 2021 AFC Cup) than the others for the two matches against Nepal,” felt Stimac.
Goalkeepers: Amrinder Singh, Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu
Defenders: Pritam Kotal, Chinglensana Singh Konsham, Mandar Rao Dessai, Akash Mishra, Rahul Bheke, Subhasish Bose, Seriton Fernandes
Midfielders: Lalengmawia, Bipin Singh, Anirudh Thapa, Sahal Abdul Samad, Brandon Fernandes, Liston Colaco, Yasir Mohammad, Glan Martins, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Jeakson Singh, Pronay Halder
Forwards: Manvir Singh, Rahim Ali, Sunil Chhetri, Farukh Choudhary
The Indian national team’s next competitive assignment is set to be the 2021 SAFF Championship to be held in Maldives, from October 4-16, 2021. And they have also made it to the third round of the AFC Cup 2023 qualifiers.
